In the varied fields of cleaning, cosmetics, and related endeavors, it has been customary to utilize separate applicator devices such as washcloths, towels, powder puffs, cleaning cloths, etc., for the application and removal, respectively, of cleaning solutions, polishing waxes and liquids, powder, and make-up which can be in the form of a liquid, wax, or powder-containing material, in the various fields and utilities previously mentioned. This is not only costly but duplicative in that a plurality of such media has been previously employed for the respective application and removal functions mentioned. The present invention enables the aforementioned tasks to be completed using a single applicator device which is grasped by the fingers of the hand or in desired situations the fingers of both hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,146,359 issued Jul. 13, 1915 to W. D. Smith is directed to sandpaper permitting the utilization of practically the entire surface of the sandpaper until such time as that shall become too work for further use. At that time the sandpaper is discarded. This sandpaper structure is referred to by the patentee as trifoliate made of three similar leaves, (2), (3), and (4), each being in rectangular form and all branching from a common central line.
U.S. Pat. No. 671,130 issued Apr. 2, 1901 to N. J. Darden is directed to a pencil sharpener comprised of a suitable tablet having an abrasive surface(s), viz., the inner or upper side of tablet (A), or surfaces (C) and (D) and a protecting shield (E). The protecting shield is composed of felt or other suitable flexible material and the flexibility of the tablet enables it to be bent around the edge of a desk to present a rounded abrasive surface to the point or end of a pencil to facilitate sharpening the pencil and also permitting the tablet to be folded into a V-shape so that when the end of a pencil is inserted in the fold and rapidly turned, the desired point will be produced at the end of the pencil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,785 issued on Aug. 25, 1992 to Bernard Eleouet is directed to a multifunctional composite block for manual treatment of surfaces, the block including several different pads (1) attached to a flexible connecting sheet (2) that permits superimposing the pads in at least two different configurations so that the surfaces of different pads define the outer surface of the block.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,519,577 issued on Dec. 16, 1924 to H. P. Easton, Jr. is directed to a cleaning and abrading device apparently of the steel wool or variety that serves as a scouring pad. The Easton, Jr. scouring pad is comprised of a back (10) of textile fabric flexible in all directions, a mass (11) of metallic steel wool applied to the back and stitched thereto at a plurality of points (15) and wherein one end of the back is extended to form a handle (16) and flexible cloth strips (14) extend longitudinally and transversely over the face of the metallic wool with stitches (15) extending through the flexible strips and the metallic wool and holding the flexible strips to the back. The ends of the strips are stitched to the back.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,835 issued to Raymond F. Heyer, et al, on Apr. 29, 1980 is directed to a scouring pad (10) in the shape of a ball comprised of a plurality of radially slit, regular-shaped, planar segments (11) of conformable, lofty, low-density non-woven abrasive product fastened together under compression at their centers (12) with fastening means (13). The segments are slit from the outer edge toward the center to provide radially disposed, equally spaced slits (15) which define readily aligned lobes (14), the total array of which defines the ball shape.
It will be observed that the aforementioned prior art references lack the variety of utility, the ability to be cleaned and re-used, and the ease of use as well as the structural requirements of the present invention.